Five Nights at Freddy's - A Legacy Laid to Rest
by Archcommander Tenebros
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR FNAF. When a mysterious voice calls Mike and Jeremy over to the charred ruins of the latest incarnation of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, they will discover the last, sole survivor of its legacy. From her, they shall learn not just the reason why they had to fight for their survival, but also the full story of the franchise, including the tragedy and horror within.


A/N: SPOILERS. SPOILERS. LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE SPOILERS, THEN TURN AWAY AND FINISH FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S PIZZERIA SIMULATOR NOW.

I've been following Five Nights at Freddy's for a while as a casual fan, and I have to say, the way Scott Cawthorn played us for fools is pure and utter brilliance. I mean, giving out Five Nights at Freddy's: Pizza Simulator _FOR FREE_ just to maintain the illusion of it not being FNAF6? Absolute. Fucking. Genius.

I've posted my spoiler warning above up, and on the story summary, but once again, DO NOT continue unless you have finished FNAF6 in its entirety (that too could technically count as a spoiler in and of itself, but the cat's already out of the bag from what I've seen on Youtube, etc.). If you proceed, I assume that you know what has happened in the games, and I won't be held responsible for the spoilers that follow.

This is a one-shot that occurs after the Good Ending. I apologize if I mess up any timeline or aging issues, as the timeline is still a bit confusing for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

A Legacy Laid to Rest

Misfortune seemed to follow the Five Night's at Freddy's franchise wherever it seemed to go. Mike Schmidt had known this fact from the very moment that he had started working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and had relied on all of his wits and skill to survive the five nights against the animatronics that lay within. Tragedy seemed to strike that damned place over and over again, regardless of its where and when. Mike wasn't even remotely surprised to learn that the newest reincarnation of the pizzeria had been destroyed in the _exact same way_ as that horror attraction a couple of years back.

"You don't need to _make_ Freddy's creepy," he muttered to himself, "damn place has got that area covered and more without anybody's help."

He was kind of glad that this would be the last time there would ever be a Freddy Fazbear's; the Breaking News report had made it clear that the company itself had been disbanded, not to mention the fact that its plummeting reputation would mean that _nobody_ would try to bring it back again for a very long time.

"You all right there, Jeremy?" Mike called to his passenger, who was sleeping in the backseat of the car. His fellow Night Guard grumbled something incoherent and went back to sleep. Mike frowned as he looked forward, where he could see the large sign signaling Freddy Fazbear's in the distance.

If it was up to him, he wouldn't ever go anywhere near any location of Freddy's ever again. And yet here he was now, on his way to the ruins of the latest pizzeria. He wouldn't normally have brought Jeremy along. Heck, normally he wouldn't be caught within 10 miles of this place. But last night, he had experienced a _really_ weird dream with a voice and a message that he couldn't ignore, no matter how much he wanted to.

 _Flashback to Last Night…_

" _I know who you are, Mike Schmidt. I know that your past is tied to that of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and I know of the nightmare that you confronted within. And I am sorry for the fear and possibly even the suffering that you experienced. You deserve to know why you were nearly killed by the animatronics so many years ago, and you deserve to know the full and complete story behind Freddy Fazbear's and why it had to die. Come to the ruins and ashes of the latest reincarnation. It is time for you to learn the truth, and it is time for me to make things right with the survivors among those we have wronged."_

 _Present Day_

If it had been just him, he would have dismissed the voice as just some weird dream induced by exhaustion or excessive drinking. But then Jeremy Fitzgerald, his close friend and fellow Night Guard brother had shown up receiving the exact same message, and he knew then that there was much more to it than that. Despite the many years separating them, their friendship was all but unbreakable in the face of the nightmarish experiences they had encountered. They had decided to travel there together, to receive the closure that they had been promised…and to help defend each other in case of an attack.

When they arrived, they were surprised by just how empty the place was. There was nobody in sight – no investigators, no police, nothing. It seemed the legacy of Freddy's was so entrenched in darkness that everyone wanted to abandon it as quickly as possible. The ruins themselves were just as empty – there was no sign of anything resembling props, furniture, nothing. The fire had truly consumed it all.

Except for one thing. A single, lone animatronic sitting in the edge of the ruins. A black and red bear. Even from a distance, it gave Mike and Jeremy to chills. Jeremy in particularly began to feel an ancient fear – there was _something_ odd about that animatronic, something horribly _familiar_.

The black and red bear looked up at the two former Night Guards. _"Welcome,"_ a soft and surprisingly female voice whispered into their ears. _"I was not sure that you would come. I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't. But you did, and I am grateful for that."_

"You can show that gratitude by telling us what you promised," Mike replied, his tone with an undercurrent of hostility. He had no more love for the animatronics now than he had in the past, and seeing Jeremy's fear wasn't improving his opinions anytime soon.

" _Yes…the two of you deserve to know,"_ Lefty agreed. She gestured towards the ruins of the pizzeria. _"The name of Freddy Fazbear's is cursed,"_ she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. _"It is stained with unspeakable tragedy and horror. And it all started decades ago, when five children were slaughtered at the hands of a man wearing a purple uniform."_

"Wait, WHAT?" Jeremy exploded, shock momentarily overpowering his fear. "I thought they just disappeared!"

Lefty stared straight into his eyes. _"And where do you think they disappeared to?"_ she asked pointedly. Jeremy's eyes widened in horror and realization and he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.

" _The spirits of the children were lost and fueled with rage,"_ Lefty continued her tale. _"In such a state, they could not pass on to find peace, and it was in that state that I found them. I believed that, if they could exact vengeance upon the one who murdered them, they would be able to finally be at peace. And though I lacked the ability to force them to move on, I thought that if I gave them their desired vengeance by binding their souls to Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Golden Freddy, I could find a way to grant them rest."_ The animatronic lowered its head in what suspiciously looked like shame. _"A grave mistake that I regret to this day."_

"Oh God, no wonder things were so messed up," Mike exclaimed. "All of the creepy crap going on in the restaurant I worked in, the hallucinations, that freaking Golden Freddy showing up on my desk! But you're saying _you're_ the one behind that? That doesn't make any sense! Neither Jeremy nor I have ever seen you before!"

The animatronic shook his head. _"You've never seen me before in THIS form, perhaps. But this animatronic is nearly a guise, just like this pizzeria was to destroy the evil that had plagued it for so long."_ Then, to both Night Guards' surprise, the animatronic began to pull itself apart. A slender figure climbed out, and Jeremy exploded into full-blown panic as he recognized who it was.

"NO NO NO!" he screamed. "NOT YOU! NOT AGAIN!"

"JEREMY!" Mike shouted, frantically slapping the other man's face repeatedly. "CALM DOWN!" He glared at the Puppet. "I swear," he snarled furiously, "if you were lying about bringing us here in peace, I'm going to rip you apart with my bare hands _personally!_ "

The Puppet looked sadly over at Jeremy. _"You have every right to fear me, Jeremy Fitzgerald,"_ she whispered in an apologetic tone. _"And I am truly sorry for the terror and danger that I put you through. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness."_

Jeremy had by this point finally calmed down. He shot a glare at the Puppet. "You want me to forgive you?" he growled. "Then start explaining!"

" _Of course,"_ she agreed. _"I was the first child to be murdered, before even the other animatronics. I was just like what the others would become – a rage-filled spirit driven with a desire for vengeance. It was a man in a purple suit who murdered me, and I wanted to make him suffer as I had suffered, without ever considering the possibility that there were other guards who were innocent of William Afton's crimes. When the other children were murdered during the week of Jeremy Fitzgerald's shift, and their souls placed into the animatronics, we attacked him, not realizing that he was an innocent man. And thus, our misguided quest for vengeance began."_

She sighed sadly. _"It was not until several weeks after that I began to realize that what I was doing was wrong and immoral. We had killed several guards by then, but many of us didn't understand why the Purple Guy kept coming back. But I did. I had come to realize that none of the guards we attacked were our killer, and that all this time we had been butchering innocents. Just like how William Afton butchered us. We had become no better than him, and could possibly become even worse with time. I was almost thankful when the Bite of '87 occurred, and the pizzeria was closed down. The toys had been tampered with and became scrapped, while the ones who became the main animatronics of a new Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria were shut down. We could not harm anyone while we were deactivated. But such respite could only be temporary. The souls of the children still could not pass on, and eventually the animatronics were restored and brought back to life in the new pizzeria."_

"The one that I worked in," Mike said quietly.

" _Indeed. I had been brought there as well, though I was kept hidden and away from the rest of the world. When the others were brought back online, I tried to turn them away from the murderous path we had been walking. But to my horror, they had been fully consumed by their desire for vengeance. They did not listen to my pleas, and continued their attacks. I could do nothing to stop them, but I would not join them in their killings. That is why you did not see me while I was there, Michael."_

"Thank God for that," Jeremy grumbled. "Keeping myself safe from all those damn animatronics was hard enough without watching that damn music box all the time. And I had unlimited power!"

" _Eventually, however, the murderer did come back,"_ the Puppet continued. _"I could sense it the moment he arrived, and I could feel the evil and wickedness emanating from his soul. The others knew it too, and together, we prepared to inflict upon him the righteous punishment that he deserved. He tried fend us off by tearing the animatronics to shreds, but all that did was release the spirits of the children. In order to escape, he hid himself in the suit of the original Spring Bonnie, thinking himself safe from our fury."_

"Wait, didn't those spring suits have an issue where…" Mike's eyes widened. "Oh, fuuuuuuuucccckkkkkk….no way."

The Marionette's face did not allow for much facial movement, but the guards could swear that the girl inside was smiling. _"The suit activated with him in it, and he suffered a death far more horrible than any that he had inflicted upon his victims. He died as he lived, a pathetic coward wallowing in misery and despair. Or at least, that's what we all thought…"_

The smile in her voice disappeared. _"Even after our vengeance was fulfilled, the spirits of the children still did not pass on. They were still bound to the animatronics. We could do nothing now but wait as the ruins of the animatronics were taken to a new location, a horror attraction based on the stories surrounding the pizzeria."_ Her voice suddenly became angry and bitter. _"A disrespectful mockery of those that were killed."_

"Sorry to hear about that," Jeremy murmured. "That place always struck me as wrong for some reason. Guess my gut instinct was right."

The Marionette brightened at the less hostile tone from the Night Guard. _"You have nothing to apologize for, Jeremy. Remember, I am the one who was in the wrong here."_ She sighed. _"Unfortunately, you have no idea how true your words were. For just as the spirits of the children were bound to the original animatronics, so too was the murderer's spirit bound to the suit that he was killed in. The Spring Bonnie suit. And with the physical body of the animatronic, he could possibly become even more powerful than he had been in life."_

Mike paled. An animatronic's body with a monstrous spirit inside? That combination sounded like very, VERY bad news. The animatronics he had struggled against had been bad enough, and the ghosts inside them had never been truly, completely evil.

" _This time, the spirits of the animatronics could do nothing to stop Springtrap. But fortunately, he was unable to fulfill the potential as a threat that he could have become. A Night Guard, similar to you, was assigned to watch over the place. He learned all too quickly the horror that awaited him, even if he did not understand its true nature, and he took it upon himself to destroy it before it could harm even a single human being. His intentions were admirable, but he did not plan carefully enough, since he had to worry about surviving Springtrap as well. Springtrap escaped the fire, and was intact enough to be sold at an auction. Or he would have been, had he not escaped."_

"ESCAPED?" Mike and Jeremy gasped in horror. Neither of them needed to be told how terrifying that prospect actually was. "Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck! OH, FUCK!"

" _If nothing was done, then Springtrap could have continued his murder spree wherever he pleased. My father could not allow that to him, and neither could I. He had been William Afton's business partner many years ago, but became his greatest enemy after he murdered me in cold blood. Once he heard about Springtrap's escape, he knew who he was and what he could do. I reached out to him and together we began to plan not just for the destruction of Springtrap, but also the liberation of the souls trapped within the animatronics."_

"What happened to those souls?" Michael quietly asked.

" _There was another location that was created to rival Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, known as Circus Baby's Pizza World. It was created by William Afton before his death. But unlike Freddy's, the animatronics were designed to kill children in the guise of playful and friendly robots."_

Jeremy snarled under his breath. "Of course that bastard would do something like that. There's no depths to which he won't sink."

" _The robots became aware of what they were being forced to do, and they were also being essentially tortured by the ones employed there. They sought to escape by any means necessary, and combined themselves to create an amalgamation known as Ennard. William Afton had a son, named Michael, who had thankfully not inherited the malice of his father. William sent his own son to die, and Ennard did claim its body for its own. The body eventually became useless for Ennard's purpose of walking amongst humanity, but Michael's spirit miraculously returned to reclaim its body, and he took it upon himself to bring his father down once and for all. Even I do not know whether he sought vengeance, as I once did, or justice for the many crimes his father had committed. I will continue with his story momentarily."_

" _As for Ennard, the other animatronics worked together to oust one consciousness in particular. Circus Baby. The rest of them eventually fell under the complete control of Funtime Freddy, as the other consciousnesses burned out into nothingness. He became Molten Freddy, and somehow managed to take the souls of the other children into himself. Even I do not know why or how, though part of me wishes I could have been there to prevent him from doing so,"_ the Marionette sighed again.

" _My father decided to create a "fake" pizzeria, one that would falsely signal the resurrection of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. With it, he would lure all of the animatronics that had their fates tied to that of the franchise. Springtrap, of course, was the primary target. We also sought to lure Molten Freddy, so that all of the spirits within could finally be released. But there was another enemy we needed to account for."_ At this, the Marionette's head dropped sadly. _"William's own daughter, Elizabeth. Her story is perhaps the greatest tragedy of them all."_

"Wait, WHAT?" Mike exclaimed. "I thought she was killed by an animatronic accident, I saw that in the paper a few years ago!"

" _She was indeed killed by Circus Baby,"_ the Puppet confirmed. _"But her soul came to possess the animatronic that had killed her. But there was a key difference. The souls of the children murdered by Springtrap had possessed animatronics that did not have any malevolent purpose. But Circus Baby did. Circus Baby had been designed by Afton to murder children, and that malicious programming corrupted the soul of Elizabeth. It tainted her spirit with the same desire to kill that had driven her father, and she became evil through no fault of her own. When I told my father about what happened, he understood that Baby had to be destroyed as well, for her own good as well as the good of others."_

"And did you succeed?" Jeremy asked quietly.

The Marionette's joy could be heard through her words. _"Yes! We succeeded. And we had unexpected help in our endeavor. Michael Afton had not been intended to participate in our plan, but once he came my father knew that he was the perfect man to carry out our plan, in so many ways. One at a time, the false pizzeria lured our targets to their final resting place. Michael played his part in our deception admirably, and once we had finally brought them all here…"_ she gestured towards the ruins of the pizzeria. _"My father burned this place to the ground. This time, there would be no escape. He had created a maze without exit, an eternal prison from which escape would be impossible. The only one he had intended to spare was Michael, and the one noble Afton refused to leave, choosing instead to die at the place where it would all end. And now, finally, it is done. Freddy Fazbear's, and all of the horror that accompanied it, has been eradicated once and for all."_ She beckoned to them with her fingers, and they followed her. She pointed out three blackened piles of scrap. _"This is all that is left of Molten Freddy, Scrap Baby, and Springtrap. They have been destroyed forever, and cannot come back. Not anymore."_

"Excuse me for a minute," Michael interrupted. The Puppet backed away, confused, as Michael walked up to the ruined slag of Springtrap's remains. Suddenly, he kicked savagely at the pile, a murderous expression on his face. "YEAH!" he shouted with a mixture of glee and fury. "How do you like that, you fucked up son of a bitch! Everything was your fucking fault, and now you've got what's coming to you! Hope you're rotting in Hell for all eternity, you worthless bastard!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes at his younger companion's immaturity, and turned to the Puppet. His fear was all but gone now, having been replaced by awe at the Puppet's story. "Do we know for certain that it is over?" he asked quietly.

" _The souls in the animatronics have moved on,"_ the Puppet answered with utmost certainty. _"I felt their spirits depart from this life to the next. The children who were murdered repented of their actions against the innocent Night Guards a long time ago, and have been forgiven and welcomed in turn. As for William Afton…I do not normally delight in the suffering of others, but…"_ the two Night Guards could feel the savage and hateful satisfaction emanating from her. _"I could hear his final, horrified scream as his soul was dragged into the burning abyss. I have heard whispers from the spirit world that even Hell itself is revolted by his sheer wickedness, and that his punishment will be even greater than the rest of the damned."_

"Thank fuck," Michael growled. "He deserves nothing less." His anger faded, replaced with worry as a horrifying thought occurred to him. "But…what about Elizabeth? The girl corrupted by Baby's programming? She didn't…she didn't also…"

The Marionette raised a hand to assure him. _"No, Michael. She was not sent to Hell along with her father. Remember. She was forcibly corrupted into evil by the programming within Baby. When the animatronic was destroyed, not only was her soul released from its physical confines, but she was also freed and purified of the corruption that had driven her mad."_ She sighed sadly. _"I have no doubt that she will be crushed with grief and guilt over what she tried to do, and that is a kind of sadness that not even Heaven can heal immediately. But she will recover in time, I am sure of it."_

"What about you?" Jeremy asked. "You were here, and you still are. You're the only one left."

Their host brought her hand to her mask's eye, and both Night Guards had a feeling that she would be crying if she was able. _"My father…was a brilliant man, and a compassionate one who tried to right both his own wrongs and the ones that Springtrap had caused. He loved me above all else, and saw only his daughter when he laid eyes upon what I had become. He believed that I was suffering along with the rest of the souls of the children, that he had failed me when he let me die, and he sought to save me by granting me final peace in the same building where he would destroy the evil of Springtrap. But though he tried his best to empathize with me, he was unable to fully understand me. I was not suffering. This existence is not a prison. It is an obligation that I carry out without regret. And I disagreed with his final words to me, for my work was not done."_

"You _lived_ through that fire," Mike gaped. "Either you protected yourself with some magic hoo-doo, or you got yourself out before the building came crumbling down. But…why?"

The Marionette nodded. _"Springtrap had escaped from a fire once before. There was always a chance that he or even the corrupted Baby could escape. To allow such a thing was unthinkable. So I teleported myself out of the building, so that when the flames died down, I could finish off whatever was left of the animatronics. Even if they somehow survived, they would be so thoroughly weakened that they would be unable to manifest any kind of defense against me, physical or otherwise."_ She gestured to the piles of scrap. _"Fortunately, as you can see, my caution proved to be unnecessary. When compared to the prospect of letting the evil animatronics escape, some more time in the land of the living is hardly a price to pay at all. I hope my father forgives me when he arrives in Heaven and learns that I am not there with him. But I did what I had to do to ensure the future safety of generations."_

"I don't think _anybody_ is gonna disagree with you there," Jeremy remarked.

"It really is all over, then," Mike sighed, sitting down in the ruins. "Freddy's is dead for good. And all of the horror is finally, finally done with."

The Marionette approached him and leaned down. _"I am truly, truly sorry for all of the grief, terror, and suffering that I put you and the other Night Guards through. Our quest for vengeance made us into murderers like the one who killed us, and many innocent lives were snuffed out before we finally realized our mistake."_

Jeremy sighed. "I still don't think I'll ever feel comfortable around you, if I'm honest," he answered honestly. "But given everything that's happened and everything you've told us…I guess I can forgive you. Dunno about Mike though."

He wasn't sure how the Marionette would react, but he certainly didn't expect it to leap forward and wrap him in a hug. The haunted puppet started making sounds similar to crying, and Jeremy dimly realized, "She's just a kid. She might have aged mentally a couple decades. But at the end of the day, she's just a kid."

Once she had given Mike the same hug, she stepped back. _"I called you here more than just to ask for your forgiveness and share you my story,"_ she explained. _"As I said before, the name of Freddy Fazbear's is cursed. In one sense, I came here to bring an end to that curse once and for all. But in a different way, I want that curse to continue. I want to make sure that Freddy Fazbear's never rises again, and that history does not repeat itself. All it takes is one evil soul to restart the cycle. And that is why I brought you here. You experienced the horror of Freddy's firsthand. The two of you, among all people, are best suited to ensure that its reputation stays so low that no one will ever even think about bringing it back. I know that you cannot do much, but I am asking you for your help regardless. Please, help me prevent the tragedies from recurring, in any way you can."_

"I don't know what I can do to help you," Jeremy replied defeatedly. But to his surprise, Mike didn't say a word. "Uh, Mike?"

"You know…" Mike murmured. "Now that Freddy Fazbear's is disbanded, there isn't anything to keep our mouths shut. And while I don't want to accidentally disrespect the dead by blabbering their story without their permission, I think I know how to make sure Freddy's never comes back as a restaurant. I know just the person to help me."

He turned to the Marionette. "I don't know how long you can stay in the land of the living, but I don't think you have a home or family right now. I hope I don't regret this, but…do you want to come with me? I might need you for this idea I'm planning that'll help you with your goal, and as much as I hate to admit it, I don't like the idea of just leaving you alone here until you die for real."

The Marionette perked up noticeably. _"You are offering me a home? Even after everything I did to…"_

Mike smirked. "Technically, you only tried to fuck up Jeremy. You didn't actually do anything to try and hurt me directly."

"Hey!" Jeremy protested, but Mike ignored him. He reached into his pocket and picked up his cell phone, punching in a number. "Hello? Hey, Scott! Good to hear from you! Listen, can I meet up with you sometime this week? I've got this idea I have in mind, and I have a special someone I want you to meet."

/

As the three figures started to climb into Mike's car and it sped away into the distance, two spectral figures watched them unseen. One was the ghostly figure of a human male, while the other was a nightmarish, black bear-like monstrosity.

"Even after all this time, my daughter, I still never truly understood you," Henry's ghost sighed. "You are an even greater person than I can possibly imagine. I am certain that you are in good hands with Michael, until the day comes when I can embrace you in full." He glared up at the hellish abomination. "I still don't understand why you helped me," he muttered.

" **IT'S QUITE SIMPLE,"** Nightmare laughed menacingly. **"THE WICKEDNESS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN FEED THE HUNGER OF ME AND MY KIN, AND THERE ARE FEW SOULS THAT HAVE EVER BEEN AS DEPRAVED AND AS VILE AS WILLIAM AFTON'S. HE ESCAPED OUR CLUTCHES FOR SO LONG, BUT NO ONE CAN ESCAPE FOREVER. IT WAS I WHO WHISPERED INTO THE EARS OF YOUR TARGETS, CONVINCING THEM TO COME TO THEIR DOOM. YOUR INSIDIOUSNESS WAS ADMIRABLE, EVEN IF IT WAS DIRECTED FOR A NOBLE CAUSE,"** he spoke the last two words mockingly. **"MY BRETHERN AND I WERE DELIGHTED TO FINALLY HAVE HIM IN OUR CLUTCHES WHEN YOU EXPELLED HIS SPIRIT FROM SPRINGTRAP AND CAST HIM INTO OUR FIRES. WE SHALL DEVOUR ON HIS SOUL AND HIS SINS FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME INDEED."**

"And that's it? No strings attached? You're not going to try and enslave my soul, my daughter's, or anyone else's?"

Nightmare's eyes flared menacingly and he growled. **"WE HAVE NO CLAIM ON ANY OTHER SOULS. PERHAPS, IF THE SOULS OF THE CHILDREN HAD CONTINUED TO MURDER THE INNOCENT WITHOUT REPENTANCE, I COULD CLAIM THEM AS WELL. BUT THEY LEARNED THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS, AND I HAVE NO POWER OVER ANY OF THEM. AND EVEN WITHOUT THAT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT…"** his lip curled in disgust. **"THERE ARE SOME CRIMES TOO VILE AND DESPICABLE FOR EVEN HELL TO CONDONE, LET ALONE COMMIT. THOUGH OUR PRIMARY INTEREST WAS IN SATISFYING OUR HUNGER OFF OF HIS WICKEDNESS, FOR THIS ONE TIME ALONE, ALL THE REALMS OF THE AFTERLIFE WERE INVESTED IN BRINGING HIM TO JUSTICE. INCLUDING OUR OWN."** He stared straight into Henry's eyes. **"BE HONORED, HENRY. IT IS RARE INDEED FOR ME TO PROVIDE AID TO A LESSER BEING WITHOUT DEMANDING A FAVOR IN RETURN, AND EVEN RARER FOR ME TO DO SO AND FORWARD THE CAUSE OF GOODNESS."**

"Well, thanks…I guess," Henry muttered.

Nightmare grinned. **"AND NOW I DEPART. I HAVE DELAYED LONG ENOUGH, AND GENEROUSLY ALLOWED MY KIN TO BEGIN WITHOUT ME, FOR I WAS INTERESTED IN SEEING THIS STORY CONCLUDE IN ITS ENTIRETY. BUT NOW THAT IS OVER AND DONE, AND IT IS TIME FOR** _ **MY**_ **FEAST TO BEGIN. I WONDER IF I CAN HAVE ALL OF MY MOUTHS TEAR INTO HIS ETHEREAL FLESH AT THE SAME TIME."** With a roaring laughter that echoed throughout the empty lot, his body erupted into a column of flame and he vanished.

Henry's ghost sighed as he turned his eyes back to the spot where Mike's car had vanished. "I wish we could ascend to Heaven together, my daughter, but you are your own person, and I understand that your sense of duty calls to you. I, too, have a duty of my own. Elizabeth will need me to help her recover from the ordeal that she suffered. But I hope you live your life as you desire and that you live it well, until the day that we can become a family again in full." And with that, his body glowed with a brilliant light and he too vanished, leaving an empty lot behind.

/

Whoo boy, ten pages, one of the longest things I have written in a very long time. While this fic is very expository in nature (and I'm sorry if that ends up being a bit boring), with the Marionette explaining the history of the Fazbear Pizzeria from her own perspective, I also wanted to add my own spin on things. Since the Marionette is the closest thing the series has to a Big Good, as explained in the TV Tropes page, I wanted to make her a sympathetic character who recognized her own darkness and turned away from it before it was too late. I also added my own insight to things unexplained, such as why the Puppet was present in FNAF1 but never attacked Mike, or why Lefty is the only animatronic that wasn't shown to be burned in the Good Ending of FNAF6.

One of the biggest things I wanted to address was Scrap Baby/Elizabeth's final fate. On the one hand, she had become evil like her father, but on the other hand, I REALLY didn't like the idea of a little girl being sent to Hell (for reasons that, whether you're a Christian or not, should be fairly obvious). After a few minutes of thinking, the solution appeared to me in a flash. If her soul was corrupted by Baby's murderous programming, cause everything is William Afton's fault, then none of her evil actions were done of her own free will, and therefore they won't be counted against her and she can ascend to Heaven once her soul is freed and purified. This is my personal headcanon on what happened to Baby/Elizabeth, since it's the only one that leaves me fully satisfied.

Originally, I wasn't going to add the last bit between Henry and Nightmare, but Nightmare was the only Big Bad animatronic not featured in the main game of FNAF6 and I just had to include him. It's ambiguous as to what his nature is in FNAF4, but here he's a high-ranking demon from Hell itself (your call on whether he's actually Satan himself or not). However, I didn't want to just make him some generic evil asshole, which is why he's unquestionably malicious (if all that talk about eating William Afton's soul didn't clue you in) but also has some sliver of morality that manifests as disgust at William Afton's evilness. There is no such thing as complete and total evil after all, or complete and total good for that matter. Kinda like my interpretation of Dan Phantom from The Phantom Hero's Realm, now that I think about it. Anyway, if you want to imagine what his "kin" look like, just imagine Jack-O-Chica or Jack-O-Bonnie and then apply their appearance to ALL of the existing animatronics.

I apologize if I got any details wrong. I'm just going by what I can gather from my own research and the TV Tropes page. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
